--- title: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is... description: Microsoft is increasingly investing in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as a strategic move to retain developers on Windows. Two major recent developments... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-keeps-getting-better-and-it-s-because-microsoft-is-finally-admitting-where-developers-want-to-b-x0d6hore1 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be | daily.dev og:description: Microsoft is increasingly investing in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as a strategic move to retain developers on Windows. Two major recent developments... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-keeps-getting-better-and-it-s-because-microsoft-is-finally-admitting-where-developers-want-to-b-x0d6hore1 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/X0D6hORe1.png og:image:alt: WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 7 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Microsoft is increasingly investing in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as a strategic move to retain developers on Windows. Two major recent developments highlight this shift: Coreutils for Windows, which brings Linux command-line tools like grep, cat, and ls to the Windows terminal without requiring WSL, and WSL containers (now in public preview), which let developers run Linux apps in containers without third-party tools like Docker. The author argues Microsoft is making these concessions not out of goodwill, but because the alternative — developers abandoning Windows for Linux entirely — would be far more costly for the company. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is Coreutils for Windows and what commands does it support? Coreutils for Windows is a Microsoft feature, first shown at Build 2026, that translates Linux command-line syntax into Windows equivalents. It supports text manipulation commands like grep, cat, and awk, file utilities like ls, cp, mv, and rm, and system information commands like uptime, date, and pwd, letting developers use Linux or Windows syntax interchangeably without WSL. _Developers weighing Windows versus Linux tooling can follow WSL and Coreutils updates on daily.dev._ ### Can I run Linux containers on Windows without installing Docker? Yes, WSL containers, now in public preview, let developers run Linux apps in containers directly through WSL without downloading third-party tools like Docker. A container can be set up with a few lines of code, and apps can be configured to access the container directly. Currently a separate tool download is still required only because the feature is in preview, ending once it reaches full release. _Anyone choosing between WSL and Docker for containerized Linux apps can track this shift on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Windows is quietly becoming the easiest way to run Linux containers, and I don't know how to feel about it](https://daily.dev/posts/windows-is-quietly-becoming-the-easiest-way-to-run-linux-containers-and-i-don-t-know-how-to-feel-ab-iczv4vrzy) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [WSL containers are here, bringing Linux development straight into Windows without extra tools](https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-containers-are-here-bringing-linux-development-straight-into-windows-without-extra-tools-7tvl6ztrw) · XDA Developers · 40 upvotes · 7 comments - [Making Windows a developer platform, again](https://daily.dev/posts/making-windows-a-developer-platform-again-hh9y1edqr) · InfoWorld · 14 upvotes · 3 comments - [Microsoft called Linux a cancer, and now it ships a real Linux kernel inside Windows](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-called-linux-a-cancer-and-now-it-ships-a-real-linux-kernel-inside-windows-aksgzcyi5) · XDA Developers · 2 upvotes · 2 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#microsoft](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft), [#containers](https://daily.dev/tags/containers) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-keeps-getting-better-and-it-s-because-microsoft-is-finally-admitting-where-developers-want-to-b-x0d6hore1) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"WSL keeps getting better, and it's because Microsoft is finally admitting where developers want to be","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-keeps-getting-better-and-it-s-because-microsoft-is-finally-admitting-where-developers-want-to-b-x0d6hore1","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/wsl-keeps-getting-better-and-it-s-because-microsoft-is-finally-admitting-where-developers-want-to-b-x0d6hore1"},"datePublished":"2026-07-04T16:32:24.464Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T19:01:34.241Z","description":"Microsoft is increasingly investing in WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) as a strategic move to retain developers on Windows. 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